To Protect the People We Care For
by Shadow Hylian
Summary: Tibarn had been observing the battle from above before he realised that archers were closing in on Reyson.


Disclaimer: The Fire Emblem series is the property of Intelligent Systems and Nintendo. I do not own anything.

Summary: Tibarn had been observing the battle from above before he realised that archers were closing in on Reyson.

Shadow Hylian: This was inspired by my tendency to leave weak characters open, then have them promptly shot down and killed by the one archer that I didn't see. Takes place in Radiant Dawn part 3, endgame. Slight TibarnXReyson.

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To Protect the People We Care For

The battle had long since spiralled out of control. Both Beorc and Laguz corpses littered the frost covered plain, pools of blood staining the snowy landscape where the fighting raged.

Tibarn could hear the screeches of his brethren and the roars of the beast tribe, the shouts and battle cries of the Daein soldiers as the enemies collided. The clash of steel, of snarling and arrows flying overhead among the Pegasi Knights, spells cast by the mages sending sparks flying and the occasional hawk swooping down on his prey.

The bloodshed was starting to effect the Laguz; the beast tribe seemed to be the most affected as many of Skrimir's men were attacking in groups, targeting stray Beorc in a far more violent manner than they previously had been. His "Eyes" had informed him that the Dragon Prince Kurthnaga was also reacting badly to the fighting. It would be one hell of a problem if the dragon shifted forms and went on the rampage.

Tibarn was about to order his "Eyes" to do a bit of scouting, but Janaff had already shifted forms and flown off, taking down a lone archer caught off guard. Ulki wouldn't help much either, since his heightened hearing ability would only pick up the sounds of the battle.

The Hawk King scanned the battlefield, flying high above the carnage in his shifted form, looking for his allies. He spotted Ike and his mercenaries in the centre of the field, his main strike force leading with archers and Pegasi knights at medium range and healers at the rear along with the mages.

But as he studied his ally's units, Tibarn realised that he couldn't see Reyson within the mass of soldiers. Reyson should have been with the healers due to his vulnerability, so why had he strayed away from the main group?

Tibarn swooped lower, circling over the battle agitatedly, trying to find the Heron. Honestly, what the hell was Reyson thinking? His determination to fight on the battlefield like any other assault unit was going to get himself killed someday. He'd warned him before about that.

The Hawk King's eyes caught sight of movement; a sliver of white flitting through the long grasses. But there were archers wielding crossbows closing in upon the Heron.

Tibarn screeched a warning, but Reyson didn't hear it over the surrounding noise. The White Prince saw the Daein archers approaching and was trying to stay out of their range, but they were advancing too quickly.

Tibarn dived towards Reyson as the archers began to load their crossbows, aiming the weapons towards the Heron ready to fire.

The bolt was fired, propelling through the air and skimmed past the Heron's wing, just missing Reyson's arm. He barely dodged it. Next time his luck might not hold out.

Another archer loaded his crossbow and let the bolt fly.

There was no way that Reyson could survive a direct hit.

Tibarn swooped, making a split-second decision to intervene and dived in front of the Heron, acting as a shield to protect Reyson and taking the hit himself.

The bolt struck, piercing the Hawk King's shoulder, the pain pulsing through the wound causing Tibarn to revert back to his human form. Tibarn grimaced, knees buckling and collapsing to the ground as he clamped a hand to his injured right shoulder, the crossbow bolt buried within the crook of the joint.

"You okay?" the hawk asked in a constricted voice, turning towards the Heron. Reyson gaped, staring at Tibarn with a shell-shocked expression, which was probably due to the fact that he rarely seen the Hawk King so much as grazed by an enemy before. "I've warned you time and again. You've not to get yourself separated on a battlefield. You're job is to back up the rest of us, not to take the enemy head on or go wandering off!" Tibarn lectured, getting shakily to his feet and ripping the crossbow bolt out of his arm with a grimace of pain.

"Tibarn, don't pull it our like that, you'll hurt yourself more." Reyson fretted, but Tibarn tossed the weapon to the ground casually and turned back to face the White Prince, arms folded as he returned to his "Lecture Mode".

"You were lucky that I noticed you were in trouble." the Hawk King spoke sternly, "If that bolt had hit you, you would've been a goner. You know that you shouldn't really be on the field of battle, you've far too susceptible to attacks."

"Why can't I fight?!" Reyson retaliated, "So what if I can't fight off enemies! I can still be useful by protecting my comrades. Every person on this battlefield is fighting for their own ideals. Let me fight so that I can protect the people that I love." the Heron stated, his expression determined. It was obvious that Reyson wasn't going to back down.

Tibarn carefully considered his options. If Reyson was on the battlefield, at least he could watch out for him and the Heron's Galdrar did come in handy...

"Alright then." The Hawk King decided, knowing that this wasn't an argument that he could win. "Just don't wander off by yourself again, okay?"

Tibarn sighed, recovering his strength with a Vulnerary and muttering under his breath about stubborn Herons, wondering how the once unassuming and reserved Heron tribe had become so forthright and demanding.

_Oh,_ he thought, _I guess that was my fault._

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Shadow Hylian: Feedback is very much appreciated, so review please!


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